[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 36 (Monday, February 24, 2014)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 9987-9989]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-03847]
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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Agricultural Marketing Service
7 CFR Part 966
[Doc. No. AMS-FV-13-0076; FV13-966-1 FR]
Tomatoes Grown in Florida; Increased Assessment Rate
AGENCY: Agricultural Marketing Service, USDA.
ACTION: Final rule.
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SUMMARY: This rule increases the assessment rate established for the
Florida Tomato Committee (Committee) for the 2013-14 and subsequent
fiscal periods from $0.024 to $0.0375 per 25-pound carton of tomatoes
handled. The Committee locally administers the Federal marketing order,
which regulates the handling of tomatoes grown in Florida. Assessments
upon Florida tomato handlers are used by the
[[Page 9988]]
Committee to fund reasonable and necessary expenses of the program. The
fiscal period begins August 1 and ends July 31. The assessment rate
will remain in effect indefinitely unless modified, suspended, or
terminated.
DATES: Effective Date: February 25, 2014.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Corey E. Elliott, Marketing
Specialist, or Christian D. Nissen, Regional Director, Southeast
Marketing Field Office, Marketing Order and Agreement Division, Fruit
and Vegetable Program, AMS, USDA; Telephone: (863) 324-3375, Fax: (863)
325-8793, or Email: Corey.Elliott@ams.usda.gov or
Christian.Nissen@ams.usda.gov.
Small businesses may request information on complying with this
regulation by contacting Jeffrey Smutny, Marketing Order and Agreement
Division, Fruit and Vegetable Program, AMS, USDA, 1400 Independence
Avenue SW., STOP 0237, Washington, DC 20250-0237; Telephone: (202) 720-
2491, Fax: (202) 720-8938, or Email: Jeffrey.Smutny@ams.usda.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This rule is issued under Marketing
Agreement No. 125 and Order No. 966, both as amended (7 CFR part 966),
regulating the handling of tomatoes grown in Florida, hereinafter
referred to as the ``order.'' The order is effective under the
Agricultural Marketing Agreement Act of 1937, as amended (7 U.S.C. 601-
674), hereinafter referred to as the ``Act.''
The Department of Agriculture (USDA) is issuing this rule in
conformance with Executive Orders 12866 and 13563.
This rule has been reviewed under Executive Order 12988, Civil
Justice Reform. Under the marketing order now in effect, Florida tomato
handlers are subject to assessments. Funds to administer the order are
derived from such assessments. It is intended that the assessment rate
as issued herein will be applicable to all assessable Florida tomatoes
beginning on August 1, 2013, and continue until amended, suspended, or
terminated.
The Act provides that administrative proceedings must be exhausted
before parties may file suit in court. Under section 608c(15)(A) of the
Act, any handler subject to an order may file with USDA a petition
stating that the order, any provision of the order, or any obligation
imposed in connection with the order is not in accordance with law and
request a modification of the order or to be exempted therefrom. Such
handler is afforded the opportunity for a hearing on the petition.
After the hearing, USDA would rule on the petition. The Act provides
that the district court of the United States in any district in which
the handler is an inhabitant, or has his or her principal place of
business, has jurisdiction to review USDA's ruling on the petition,
provided an action is filed not later than 20 days after the date of
the entry of the ruling.
This rule increases the assessment rate established for the
Committee for the 2013-14 and subsequent fiscal periods from $0.024 to
$0.0375 per 25-pound carton of Florida tomatoes.
The Florida tomato marketing order provides authority for the
Committee, with the approval of USDA, to formulate an annual budget of
expenses and collect assessments from handlers to administer the
program. The members of the Committee are producers of Florida
tomatoes. They are familiar with the Committee's needs and with the
costs of goods and services in their local area, and are therefore in a
position to formulate an appropriate budget and assessment rate. The
assessment rate is formulated and discussed in a public meeting. Thus,
all directly affected persons have an opportunity to participate and
provide input.
For the 2012-13 and subsequent fiscal periods, the Committee
recommended, and USDA approved, an assessment rate of $0.024 per 25-
pound carton of tomatoes that would continue in effect from fiscal
period to fiscal period unless modified, suspended, or terminated by
USDA upon recommendation and information submitted by the Committee or
other information available to USDA.
The Committee met on August 22, 2013, and unanimously recommended
2013-14 expenditures of $1,824,600 and an assessment rate of $0.0375
per 25-pound carton of Florida tomatoes. In comparison, last year's
budgeted expenditures were $1,672,952. The assessment rate of $0.0375
is $0.0135 higher than the rate currently in effect. The Committee
depleted its reserve by using the funds to help meet its annual
expenditures over the past year. Therefore, the Committee recommended
increasing the assessment rate to generate sufficient funds to cover
expenditures and increase its reserve balance.
The major expenditures recommended by the Committee for the 2013-14
year include $800,000 for education and promotion, $458,500 for
salaries, and $300,000 for research. Budgeted expenses for these items
in 2012-13 were $750,000, $436,372, and $250,000, respectively.
The assessment rate recommended by the Committee was derived by
reviewing anticipated expenses; expected shipments of Florida tomatoes;
income from interest, Market Access Program funds, and specialty crop
block grants; and the need to add additional funds to the reserve.
Florida tomato shipments for the year are estimated at 35 million 25-
pound cartons, which should provide $1,312,500 in assessment income.
Income derived from handler assessments, interest, and other sources
should be adequate to cover budgeted expenses. Reserve funds projected
to be $440,500 will be kept within the maximum permitted by the order
of no more than approximately one fiscal period's expenses as stated in
Sec. 966.44.
The assessment rate established in this rule will continue in
effect indefinitely unless modified, suspended, or terminated by USDA
upon recommendation and information submitted by the Committee or other
available information.
Although this assessment rate will be in effect for an indefinite
period, the Committee will continue to meet prior to or during each
fiscal period to recommend a budget of expenses and consider
recommendations to modify the assessment rate. The dates and times of
Committee meetings are available from the Committee or USDA. Committee
meetings are open to the public and interested persons may express
their views at these meetings. USDA will evaluate Committee
recommendations and other available information to determine whether
modification of the assessment rate is needed. Further rulemaking will
be undertaken as necessary. The Committee's 2013-14 budget and those
for subsequent fiscal periods would be reviewed and, as appropriate,
approved by USDA.
Final Regulatory Flexibility Analysis
Pursuant to requirements set forth in the Regulatory Flexibility
Act (RFA) (5 U.S.C. 601-612), the Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS)
has considered the economic impact of this rule on small entities.
Accordingly, AMS has prepared this final regulatory flexibility
analysis.
The purpose of the RFA is to fit regulatory actions to the scale of
businesses subject to such actions in order that small businesses will
not be unduly or disproportionately burdened. Marketing orders issued
pursuant to the Act, and the rules issued thereunder, are unique in
that they are brought about through group action of essentially small
entities acting on their own behalf.
[[Page 9989]]
There are approximately 80 handlers of tomatoes subject to
regulation under the marketing order and approximately 100 producers in
the production area. Small agricultural service firms are defined by
the Small Business Administration (SBA) as those whose annual receipts
are less than $7,000,000, and small agricultural producers are defined
as those having annual receipts of less than $750,000 (13 CFR 121.201).
Based on industry and Committee data, the average annual price for
fresh Florida tomatoes during the 2012-13 season was approximately
$10.64 per 25-pound carton, and total fresh shipments were
approximately 35.5 million cartons. Based on the average price, about
80 percent of the handlers could be considered small businesses under
SBA's definition. In addition, based on production data, grower prices
as reported by the National Agricultural Statistics Service, and the
total number of Florida tomato growers, the average annual grower
revenue is below $750,000. Thus, the majority of handlers and producers
of Florida tomatoes may be classified as small entities.
This rule increases the assessment rate for the 2013-14 and
subsequent fiscal periods from the current rate of $0.024 to $0.0375
per 25-pound carton of tomatoes. The Committee unanimously recommended
the increased assessment rate and 2013-14 expenditures of $1,824,600.
The increase was recommended to generate sufficient funds to cover the
Committee's expenditures and add to its reserve. As previously stated,
income derived from handler assessments, interest, and other income
should be adequate to meet this year's anticipated expenses.
A review of historical information and preliminary information
pertaining to the upcoming season indicates that the grower price for
the 2013-14 season should average around $9.73 per 25-pound carton of
tomatoes. Utilizing this estimate and the proposed assessment rate of
$0.0375, estimated assessment revenue as a percentage of total grower
revenue would be approximately 0.4 percent for the season.
Alternative expenditure and assessment levels were discussed prior
to arriving at this budget. However, the Committee agreed on $1,824,600
in expenditures, reviewed the quantity of assessable tomatoes, the need
to add additional funds to the reserve, and recommended an assessment
rate of $0.0375 per 25-pound carton of tomatoes.
This action increases the assessment obligation imposed on
handlers. While assessments impose some additional costs on handlers,
the costs are minimal and uniform on all handlers. These costs are
offset by the benefits derived from the operation of the marketing
order. In addition, the Committee's meeting was widely publicized
throughout the Florida tomato industry and all interested persons were
invited to attend the meeting and participate in Committee
deliberations on all issues. Like all Committee meetings, the August
22, 2013, meeting was a public meeting and all entities, both large and
small, were able to express views on this issue.
In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C.
Chapter 35), the order's information collection requirements have been
previously approved by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and
assigned OMB No. 0581-0178 Vegetable and Specialty Crops. No changes in
those requirements as a result of this action are necessary. Should any
changes become necessary, they would be submitted to OMB for approval.
This rule imposes no additional reporting or recordkeeping
requirements on either small or large Florida tomato handlers. As with
all Federal marketing order programs, reports and forms are
periodically reviewed to reduce information requirements and
duplication by industry and public sector agencies. As noted in the
initial regulatory flexibility analysis, USDA has not identified any
relevant Federal rules that duplicate, overlap, or conflict with this
final rule.
AMS is committed to complying with the E-Government Act, to promote
the use of the internet and other information technologies to provide
increased opportunities for citizen access to Government information
and services, and for other purposes.
A proposed rule concerning this action was published in the Federal
Register on December 24, 2013 (78 FR 77604). Copies of the proposed
rule were also mailed or sent via facsimile to all Florida tomato
handlers. Finally, the proposal was made available through the internet
by USDA and the Office of the Federal Register. A 15-day comment period
ending January 8, 2014, was provided for interested persons to respond
to the proposal. No comments were received.
A small business guide on complying with fruit, vegetable, and
specialty crop marketing agreements and orders may be viewed at: http://www.ams.usda.gov/MarketingOrdersSmallBusinessGuide. Any questions
about the compliance guide should be sent to Jeffrey Smutny at the
previously mentioned address in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT
section.
After consideration of all relevant material presented, including
the information and recommendation submitted by the Committee and other
available information, it is hereby found that this rule, as
hereinafter set forth, will tend to effectuate the declared policy of
the Act.
Pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 553, it is also found and determined that good
cause exists for not postponing the effective date of this rule until
30 days after publication in the Federal Register because the crop year
began August 1, 2013, and the marketing order requires that the rate of
assessment for each fiscal period apply to all assessable Florida
tomatoes handled during such fiscal period. Further, handlers are aware
of this rule, which was unanimously recommended by the Committee at a
public meeting. Also, a 15-day comment period was provided for in the
proposed rule, and no comments were received.
List of Subjects in 7 CFR Part 966
Marketing agreements, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements,
Tomatoes.
For the reasons set forth in the preamble, 7 CFR part 966 is
amended as follows:
PART 966--TOMATOES GROWN IN FLORIDA
0
1. The authority citation for 7 CFR part 966 continues to read as
follows:
Authority: 7 U.S.C. 601-674.
0
2. Section 966.234 is revised to read as follows:
Sec. 966.234 Assessment rate.
On and after August 1, 2013, an assessment rate of $0.0375 per 25-
pound carton is established for Florida tomatoes.
Dated: February 18, 2014.
Rex A. Barnes,
Associate Administrator, Agricultural Marketing Service.
[FR Doc. 2014-03847 Filed 2-21-14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-02-P